Wanted: A Rational Republican

You know what I want for Christmas? I want a Republican I can vote for. Like an increasing number of people, I consider myself pragmatic, not ideological. I've been registered as both a Republican and a Democrat. Currently, I'm an independent. The thing is, I don't think my views have changed much. The parties have shifted under my feet. The Republican party, in particular, has, to be charitable, gone stark raving mad. There was a time when they had good points to make about fiscal restraint, the application of American power (or restraint), the environment, etc. 

These days, sadly, a Republican politician can't survive the primaries unless they have crazy views about science, reproduction, religion, economics and government. The positions they are forced to take may make them look good to loony primary voters but they also make them completely unacceptable to independent minded voters, like myself, whose political philosophy can be summed up with a few requests: 1. Don't waste the money I contribute in taxes. 2. Keep your religious dogma out of our public institutions. 3. Argue about what to do about facts, not the facts themselves. 4. Don't pretend we can have a liberal democracy with progressive institutions and high quality infrastructure for free.

I think that's about it. I don't think it's impossible. In fact, I think it's crucial for the health of our country that we have a viable and vital Republican party to provide balance against the wrong headed stuff the Democrats do (gargantuan public pensions, for starters). 

To get there, the Republicans are going to have to jettison some of their stupid and demonstrably wrong ideas like the idea that giving a tax cut to a b/millionaire will magically produce growth. They've had their own way on this for about 30 years and the results are in: It doesn't work. In fact, It wrecks the budget. Giving money to people that don't need it and then claiming poverty and the necessity to cut social programs is, well, wrong. Republican orthodoxy on this is transparently awful. OK, we get it Republican Intelligentsia. You always hated the New Deal and so you've tried your best to rig the game in such a way that "we can't afford all this social spending". To the rest of us, back in the real world, Social Security and Medicare are essential and aren't going anywhere. Not to mention the small fact that WE'VE PAID FOR THEM. You wanna use your financial brinkmanship to continually erode our massively popular social programs? Well, more power to you, but you're going to continue to pay at the ballot box.

It's time for a revitalized and, um, sane Republican Party. One that gives Fox News, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh the respect they deserve (none). One that behaves like it passed high school biology class with a C or better. One that respects the scientific endeavor, understands the scientific method. One that understands math. One that respects a pastor's beliefs but understands that religious dogmas have no place in public policy decisions. One that doesn't behave like it hates brown skinned people.

This past election has, I hope, shown the Republicans that they face demographic extinction if they don't change. Given the level of denial on display in their camp regarding the reasons for their loses, it's not at all clear they will arrest their slide toward irrelevance. 

But I really hope they do. I'd love to have more choice come election season.